~Chapter 31~

~Epilogue~

It had been seven days now since Sakura had fled from the village and yet not one person had heard from her. Four days ago Tsunade received word from the Kazekage of Suna reporting that the pinkette had yet to arrive and he was wondering if she had somehow gotten delayed.

Tsunade had immediately sent for a team consisting of the best trackers in Konoha, including Neji Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga as well as Kakashi Hatake with his Ninken. Naruto was assigned to accompany them for the simple fact that once Naruto caught wind of Sakura's disappearance he refused to leave the Hokage alone until he got to go search for her as well.

That left Sasuke. Tsunade was not eager to send him out of the village but he was determined as well so she reluctantly sent him along.

What she didn't expect was to receive a report two days later stating that they had encountered a rather fresh battle scene. They scoured the entire area but what they found disturbed them. Amongst the debris that remained from one of Sakura's cracks in the ground they found her discarded Haite-ate that was soaked with blood.

But that wasn't their only discovery. Not too far away a large scale was found. Pakkun was able to identify it as a scale that belonged to the sword known as Samehada, the weapon wielded by the ex-Mist rogue Kisame Hoshigaki.

It became apparent that since a body wasn't found, the Akatsuki had taken the pinkette.

As much as Naruto and Sasuke argued to follow immediately Kakashi told them they had to return to the village and plan out their next move. They had no idea where their bases were, but there was one person in Konoha who did.

On the seventh day of Sakura being missing the tracking team returned to their village, their hearts heavy with what they had found.

The group solemnly made their way to the Hokage's office and entered where they were faced with Tsunade, Jiraiya and Itachi who looked rather confused about why he was in the office. The Hokage decided to wait until the tracking team had returned before telling him of the recent developments. As far as he knew Sakura was still in Suna, since Naruto decided to tell him on the second day of his confinement.

As the group lined up, Itachi looked immediately at Sasuke who was purposely avoiding his eyes before he glanced at the Kyuubi container who just offered him a saddened look. Before he could question them though the Hokage spoke.

"Did you bring what you have found?" She asked, only serving to confuse the older Uchiha more. He tore his eyes away from his brother and the blond as he watched Kakashi step forward, two objects in his hands.

The Copy ninja stepped up to the desk and laid the items down before stepping back in line with the others, his visible onyx orb carefully devoid of anything.

"Itachi Uchiha, come here please." Tsunade said as Kakashi walked back to his place and drawing the attention of everyone in the room. The older Uchiha did as asked and walked to the desk, his eyes trained on the Hokage.

"Tell me, do you recognize either of these items?" She Godaime asked as she leaned forward and watched the Uchiha carefully. He in turn just glanced down at them but immediately his brow furrowed.

"This is," he said as he first picked up the scale that had been identified as a piece of Kisame's weapon, "a scale that looks very similar to the sword my former partner in the Akatsuki used. Where did you find this?" He asked slowly as he laid it back down on the table before looking at the Haite-ate that was attached to the red headband.

In all his life he encountered very few people who possessed a red Haite-ate and only one within Konoha's walls. As if in slow motion he picked up the headband and held it in both his hands, his eyes focusing on where it had been stained brown indicating that it had blood on it.

"That was found close by the head band you are holding now. Four days ago I received word from the Kazekage that Sakura had never made it to Suna. I sent out a tracking team and this is what they discovered, in the middle of a battle field."

Itachi's eyes shot up from the head band in his hands and focused on the Hokage, silently begging her to be lying but her eyes remained serious. He absent-mindedly brought the haite-ate to his chest and clutched it tightly when the realization hit him.

"You believe she has been taken by the Akatsuki." He stated. It wasn't a question. All too suddenly Sasuke's mood when he first saw him, as well as the shared silence of the others just amplified his statement.

"Yes I do and we need your help. You are the only one with information on the Akatsuki and I need you to tell me everything you know. Where their bases are, where they do most of their business. Time is of the essence right now. None of us know what their purpose was in abducting Sakura but I can only imagine it is to either draw Naruto or you out, or even possibly both of you."

The room fell into a deathly silence as each person present thought about the reason Sakura had been taken. What was the purpose in it? Was it just a trap?

One by one Tsunade dismissed the other occupants until Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi remained.

After a long silence Itachi looked back up at Tsunade with determination in his eyes. "Lady Tsunade, it is my fault that she wanted to leave the village. I hold myself personally responsible and I'd like to request permission to go retrieve her. I have a better chance at finding them and through them, locating Sakura."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed drastically before she spoke in a low tone. "How can I trust you that this wasn't just part of a plan? To drive out my apprentice and then return to the Akatsuki?" The eyes of the other occupants looked from her to Itachi as they listened to their discussion.

"I promise Lady Hokage that was never my intention. I truly wanted to remain in the village and have a second chance at a peaceful life. The truth is, the time I have spent with Sakura has been more enjoyable than anything else I have ever experienced and I owe her my life. She has my heart and I will do anything to see her back in Konoha with her friends where she belongs, even if I lose my life because of it."

Naruto spoke up before Tsunade had a chance as he appeared at Itachi's side, his eyes firm with conviction. "I believe him Tsunade. This man is truly in love with Sakura and I know he is speaking the truth."

Slowly Sasuke stepped forward and stood on Itachi's other side, his face carefully blank as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I believe him as well. He succeeded where I failed. I came back to Konoha solely for Sakura but she was beyond my reach. I know she has some kind of attachment to my brother and he is right, it's his fault she left. It's up to him to bring her back."

Tsunade sat back quietly as she listened to the three in front of her before a knowing smile spread across her lips. Slowly she stood up and walked over to a filing cabinet where she dug out a file before returning to her seat and opening it up.

It was Itachi's file that stated his criminal status. Tsunade began writing something inside it before placing her Hokage seal on it and looked back up at the three.

"Alright here's how it's going to be. Itachi Uchiha, you have convinced me. You are hereby re-instated as a citizen of Konoha as well as one of our Shinobi. Your first mission, and probably the most important you will ever receive is to find Sakura Haruno and return her home. As such you will have to infiltrate the Akatsuki. I leave how you do it up to you, but once you can you are to return along with her as soon as possible. Do not draw out the mission. The quicker the better.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Jiraiya and I will be your contacts. You are to check in at every chance you have to let us know your status. If you encounter any trouble do not hesitate in contacting us, we will send aid.

"Upon your return we will proceed with a trial regarding the issue of the Uchiha massacre. Depending on how you perform in this mission it could drastically help or injure your permanent status as well as dealing with those who are truly at fault." She said as she closed his file and got back up, now placing it in a different cabinet reserved for active Shinobi.

"Yes Lady Hokage… thank you." Itachi said as a smile appeared on his face. He would not let the village down but more importantly he would not let Sakura down.

-:-

Hundreds of miles away deep underground, a woman's agonizing cries echoed throughout the hidden base. She had no idea how long she had been trapped within her dank, dark prison but all she knew was that she wanted the pain to stop.

Seconds turned into minutes which turned into hours. Eventually she stopped trying to count how long she was kept in confinement; it was a hopeless task anyway. Every time she thought she would be left alone, another one of her captors would come into her prison and add to her torment.

At first Sakura tried to remain strong and rely on hope that her friends would come for her, but then reality set in that nobody knew where she had gone except for Tsunade. By the time they realized she was missing, it would be too late for her.

Slowly her mind broke. She was tortured endlessly until she thought she would finally die from blood loss but she never did. Then there were the mental games they played. She was lucky though, none of her captors used her in any sexual ways, at least not yet. She wasn't sure how much longer her luck would last though.

Now days after she was taken captive she laid upon the cold floor, her clothes reeking of grime and old blood. Her hair was matted with debris and she ached from her battle with the large blue ex-mist man. She knew she had several broken bones, she could feel it with every breath she took, every movement she made.

She was breaking still. Part of her was already gone and she knew they were just toying with her. There was so much more they could do to her but they were holding back. She was just something to play with.

For the first few days she had been trapped down here she screamed for help and fought against the men who seemed to be taking turns with her but slowly her fight gave out. Her mind began freely thinking back to everything that led up to this moment and she could never find it within her to blame anyone or even regret the choices she made.

As much as she tried to think of all of her friends she would never see again, she couldn't help but return to her memories of her time with Itachi.

Over the course of his time living with her and Sasuke, she found herself falling more and more for him. Sure she knew it was her fault for letting herself develop such feelings. She began to wonder if he would miss her, or even notice she was gone.

As she felt herself growing weaker by the minute she began to make peace with herself. She felt genuinely calm about the fact that she would die as a captive of the Akatsuki.

She thought about Sasuke and how she never had a chance to truly forgive him for hurting her, she knew it wasn't his fault; again she let herself get carried away. She thought about Naruto and all he had done for her. His strength and his determination to achieve greatness in life.

She loved him like the brother she never had. There was Tsunade who had been like a second mother to her, especially after her own parents were killed in action.

There were so many people that she would never see again and she found herself feeling selfish because the only person she really wanted to see, even just one more time was Itachi. She wished she could see his face, feel him hold her, smell his scent.

Even if he never felt the same about her that she felt for him she still wanted that one last wish, though she knew she wouldn't get it.

She had no idea that at that very moment Itachi was searching for her, his heart filled with determination to find her and tell her how he truly felt. He just hoped he'd be quick enough and find her in time before the Akatsuki got bored with her.

End Part 1